


Cuddle Buddy

by weirdness_in_the_making



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst?, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Shiro, Closeted Characters, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), M/M, More tags to be added, Mutual Pinning, Pansexual Hunk, Pidge ships it, Roommates, Slow Burn, Trans Female Pidge | Katie Holt, oblivious children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 08:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11158365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weirdness_in_the_making/pseuds/weirdness_in_the_making
Summary: Lance is lonely. Keith likes cuddling. They decide to make a deal. Completely platonic, or is it?





	1. Want to know what it feels like?

**Author's Note:**

> I just like the idea of Lance and Keith slowly coming together, so I wrote one out :P Hope you enjoy!

Valentine’s day, a day which most singles hate. Lance was no exception to this. While males and females alike would be spending the day receiving chocolates, cards, and giving gifts, Lance would be alone once again. He was sitting on his bed, hugging a pillow to his chest, letting out a heavy sigh, trying to capture a certain someone’s attention. When the first attempt did not work, he sighed louder.

 

His actions cause the previously mentioned person to crinkle his eyebrows in annoyance, his jaw clenching, trying not to give the other the satisfaction of getting to him.

 

Lance would not give up on his mission to be payed attention to. “Keithhhh,” he whined loudly. “Keithhh!!” The other student turned his head, glaring at the papers on his desk. “Keith! Keith, I know you can hear me.” Lance shoved his chin into the pillow he was clutching, staring holes into Keith. 

 

“Lance, I’m trying to study,” He grumbled, tapping his pencil against the worksheets. He muttered something about formulas, shuffling the papers around. Lance, in turn, pouted. 

 

“And I’m trying to get your attention,” Lance shot back. “You don’t always get what you want. Once you notice that I am sad, I’ll leave you to do your work.”

 

Keith groaned, putting down his pencil and rubbing his face with his hands. “Alright, fine, what is it that’s making you sad?” he asked, clearly annoyed.

 

Lance smiled softly from behind his pillow. Keith did not notice since his mouth was hidden behind the soft, blue object. The smile disappeared as he began to speak, “You know what I hate?”

 

Keith decided, might as well as humor him. “What is it that you hate?”

 

“You,” he stated, a small smirk curving his lips upward.

 

Keith was about ready to punch Lance, his fits clentching. He choose it was best not to.“Thank you for interrupting my studies with that small bit of information I already know.” He turned his attention back to his desk, ready to tune the other out.

 

“Wait!” Lance said, putting his pillow down on his lap. “I wasn’t done.” He took in a breath before continuing, “I hate not being in a relationship… Why does no one like me in that way, Keith?”

 

“I don’t know, Lance. Probably because you interrupt people when they are trying to do things,” Keith suggested while glancing over at him.

 

Lance opened his mouth to respond, but closed it. “I guess I am annoying… It’s okay, I wouldn’t want to be my friend either…” 

 

Keith stayed quiet for a moment, biting his bottom lip. “I’m sorry, Lance. I’m just worried about losing my scholarship. Go ahead, continue talking. I need a break anyways.” He offered a weak smile.

Lance looked up at him and gave a lopsided smile back. “Okay, so, it’s Valentine’s day today. It’s made me miss being in a relationship. Mostly the cuddling, holding hands and all that ‘lovey-dovey’ stuff.”

 

Keith nodded along and hummed a small noise of understatement.

 

“You probably don’t understand since you’ve never been in a relationship,” Lance assumed.

 

“What makes you say that? I have!” Keith responded, defensively.

 

Lance raised an eyebrow, his elbows propped up on his knees and his face in his hands. “Really now?”

 

Keith looked away, being a terrible liar. “Yeah.. definitely,” he mumbled under his breath.

 

Lance chuckled and sat up straighter (Like he can do anything straight. Not with his bi ass). “Sure,” he teased. “Does that mean you’ve never cuddled with someone?”

 

Keith met Lance’s deep blue eyes with his own dark eyes that appeared purple. A soft pink hue on his cheeks. “Maybe…”

 

“So that is a no?”

 

“I didn’t say that…” Keith muttered. “But… no.”

 

Lance looked surprise for a moment. “Oh, wow. You actually haven’t?”

 

Keith shook his head. “Nope, never been in a relationship.”

 

Lance chewed on his inner cheek. “Want to know what it feels like?”

 

“What are you suggesting?” Keith asked, narrowing his eyes in slight suspicion.

 

“I mean… I want to cuddle with someone and you’ve never cuddled before. Aren’t you at least a little curious?” Lance asked. He placed the pillow down on the bed. He laid down and turned to his side, his arm stretched out. “Come here if you want to..”

 

Keith stayed sitting as he watched Lance. His eyes roamed over his face to see if it was some kind of joke. Eventually, which seemed like forever to the nervous Lance, Keith got up and walked over to him. He maneuvered himself onto the bed, his body facing Lance. “Like this?”

 

Lance shrugged. “Do whatever you feel comfortable with. We’re just two dudes cuddling. Nothing weird about that.”

 

Keith snorted. “Whatever you say Lance.” He turned, his back turned towards the other.

Lance smiled softly and slowly laid his arm over Keith’s waist. As much as he wanted to pull the smaller one closer, he didn’t. They both stayed that way, enjoying the other’s presence and warmth before falling asleep. Keith’s studies long forgotten.


	2. Are We Going To Talk About it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith wakes up first. Lance does afterwards. What will happen? I dunno. I am bad at summaries. I apologize.

Keith woke up first, his back was still against the other. Some time in the night, Lance had pulled Keith closer to him. No wonder Keith was hot, enough to wake him. He turned to face Lance to pull the other from slumber, but he stopped when he saw Lance how blissful his face seemed.

 

Keith stayed quiet, his eyes passing over Lance’s every detail on his face. When he was asleep, he wasn’t as annoying, it made it easier to notice things when the cuban boy wasn’t rambling on about something and smiling. Even if his smile was as bright as the sun against his seemingly perfect, tan skin.

 

A small part of him wished he was awake so he could stare into the other’s deep blue eyes that looked like the ocean. A blushed formed on his cheeks from that thought and looked away. He pushed himself away from Lance’s arms, only to be pulled closer with a groan. The sleeping male buried his face into him.

 

“Lance,” Keith threatened, trying to wake him once more.

 

His attempt created no result as Lance relaxed and his breathing slowed, showing that he had fallen asleep.

 

Keith sighed heavily and flicked the side of Lance’s head with his finger, earning an ow and Lance’s warmth abruptly moving away. For a second, Keith missed it. Only a second, but then Lance opened his mouth to speak.

 

“What was that for!” He whined as he sat up and over reacted by rubbing at his left temple.

 

“First of all, I didn’t hit you that hard and second of all, you aren’t even rubbing at the right side. I flicked you on the right, not left,” he said, suppressing a smile as he followed Lance’s actions and sat up.

 

Lance froze and let his hand fall. “You hit me so hard, the pain travelled to the other side.”

 

Keith rolled his eyes, dropping the topic. With a turn of his body, he reached over and grabbed Lance’s phone which sat nearby on the nightstand. He clicked it on, the soft, ghostly light hitting his face. Until now, none of them had noticed how dark it had been, the only light being the light posts outside. The screensaver on the phone was a selfie of Hunk and Lance, both smiling brightly back at Keith. The time read 4:22 AM.

 

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Who gave you permission to take my phone?”

 

“I did,” Keith said and put it back. He rubbed his eyes with his hands. “It’s still early… I have class in 4 hours or so.”

Lance said nothing for a few moments, looking at Keith expectantly.

 

Keith pulled his hands away from his face, meeting Lance’s gaze. “What?”   
  


Lance opened his mouth to speak and then closed it like a fish. He seemed troubled and looked away from him. “Nothing, never mind.”

 

“Lance, you clearly have something on your mind. Just say it, like a band-aid,” Keith suggested.

 

Lance gave Keith a side-glance, receiving a crooked smile of encouragement. “Are we going to talk about what happened last night? And don’t pretend it didn’t happen.”

 

Keith blinked. “Lance, it was just cuddling. It meant nothing, right?” 

 

“Right..” Lance responded, but he did not sound convinced. “Yeah, you’re right. Just cuddling between two bros. Nothing special.”

 

“Exactly…” Keith added. “Well!” he said suddenly and got up from his bed. “I’m going back to sleep.”

 

“Okay,” Lance said softly. He did not move from his sitting position, facing Keith as he laid down. 

 

Keith’s back faced Lance. He stared at the wall before announcing, “Sweet dreams, Lance.”

 

Silence.

 

“Good night, Keith.”

 

A shuffle. Lance had laid down, facing Keith’s side of the room.

 

Both boys pretended to be asleep as a silence fell between them. Both longing for warmth from a human, but neither saying anything until morning.


	3. Flushed Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Pidge are introduced!

Lance was usually the first to waken between them. Hey, beauty takes time to perfect. While, Keith gets ready in less than 10 minutes, Lance takes his time perfecting his already perfect face (in his opinion).

 

He got up to his noisy alarm, being the deep sleeper he was, it had to be loud, or he would have no woken up.

 

Keith shifted on his bed, hiding his ears behind his pillow with a red cover. Once the blaring noise was gone, he calmed and tried to go back to sleep. 

 

Lance stretched while yawning before preparing to do his morning routine. He got all his stuff and walked towards the shared bathrooms and looked at himself in the mirror. He cursed under his breath when he realized because he had cuddled with Keith, he had forgotten to put on his nightly face mask.

 

A strong blush crawled its way to his cheeks at the memory as his brain finally processed what had happened the night before. He, Lance Mcclain, cuddled with him, Keith Kogane. Keith, the guy he was having a one sided rivalry with, was cuddled by him. 

 

Lance chewed on his inner cheek and forced it down, gripping onto the edge of the sink. Why had he been so upset the night before when Keith had left? He gulped his feelings down and continued his morning routine.

 

Eventually, Lance did finish getting ready. He walked back to the dorm. He leaned against the door for a moment, watching the sleeping Keith before pushing himself off and  making his way (down town) towards his bed. He sat down on the edge and poked Keith’s side. “Wake up, Mullet.”

 

Keith turned to his side and looked up at Lance with a sleepy look. He sat up on the bed and yawned, his eyes watering slightly as he rubbed at them with his hand. His bed head was funny and made him look adorable. 

 

Lance smiled fondly for a moment with a faint smile before getting up. “Well, hurry up so you are not late to class. We’ll meet up with Hunk and Pidge as per usual.” Keith nodded to show that he heard him as Lance draped his backpack straps onto his shoulders and left.

 

Lance could not focus as well in the first class. His mind kept floating back towards Keith sleeping and his calming warm before he fell asleep the night before. He longed to be back in bed with the raven haired male instead of listening to his professor’s bland voice. His face would flush at the thought and he slid slightly down on his seat as if he could disappear that way.

 

The class ended soon after he was finally able to focus on the older female’s voice up ahead. He could just ask someone for notes, right? No biggie. He would do that later. For now, he had to meet up with his buddies.

 

He quickly left the building and walked to a nearby park. He strolled to a bench, near the edge of the park. He usually ended up being first since his building was close. The sun was out and there was a tree creating shade close by. Instead of sitting on the bench, he plopped down on the ground, his face looking up the sky. His eyes closed, enjoying the quietness for a bit. 

 

He stretched like a star fish before placing his hands on top of his stomach. He laid there, doing nothing for a few minutes until he heard a shuffle next to him. He opened one eye to look over lazily to who it was that made that noise. 

 

It was Keith. His well defined, pale arms propped up his head from under him. He wore a dark shirt making his fair skin even fairer. His eyes were closed, his long eyelashes casting shadows on his cheeks. 

 

Lance hadn’t notice he was staring until Keith spoke up, “Why are you looking at me?” He asked, his eyes fluttering open.

 

Lance blushed softly, quickly looking away from him. “I still can’t believe you have a quiznacking mullet, Keith. That hairstyle is so old.”  Insult. That was his defense. Why was that his first instinct? It just lead to them always bickering which is the exact opposite of what Lance wants. They may be ‘rivals’, but Lance still wants them to be at least fine with each other.

 

“Seriously, Lance?” Keith said, sitting up. “Can you go one day without complaining about my hair? It’s my hair, why does it bother you so much? Will you stop bringing it up if I cut it?”   
  


Lance opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it. He sat up, facing Keith. “Sorry. No, your hair is fine.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, the blush still on his cheeks. He looked back at Keith only to find him staring right back. They said nothing.

 

That is until someone else spoke up, “The sexual tension is so thick it could be cut with a knife,” teased a familiar gremlin.

 

It made Lance and Keith jump, lost and forgotten to where they were. “Pidge, don’t do that..” Lance grumbled and got up from the grass.

 

Pidge snorted. “No matter what I did, you would have still gotten spooked.”

 

Keith followed after Lance and got up. “Don’t worry about it. Lance is just a scaredy cat,” a subtle smirk on his lips.

 

“Am not!” Lance responded. “You jumped as well.”

 

“Um.. Nope,” he said, folding his hands over his chest,” I didn’t.”

 

“As much as I find your flirting cute, I brought cupcakes,” Hunk announced, holding a small purple box. 

 

Lance was going to protest but his mouth started watering at the word cupcakes. It was a well known fact that Hunk was a good baker and cook. His food was delicious, almost as good as his mama. 

 

“What is the occasion?” Keith asked, eyeing the box as Hunk opened the box, exposing the chocolate cupcakes and purple icing. 

 

“Did you have a quiz, or something?” Pidge asked as she sat on the bench, leaning over to take a cupcake. She peeled off the wrapper and took a bite. 

 

“An oral exam,” Hunk responded, rubbing at his shoulder. “I bake when stressed…” Hunk explained when Keith looked at him.

 

Lance sat next to Pidge and grabbed a cupcake as well. “Hunk, your cupcakes are a gift from heaven.” He licked the frosting and hummed, satisfied with the sweetness.

 

Hunk smiled at the compliment. His glance moved to Keith. “You’re free to take one, Keith. Wouldn’t want them to go to waste.”

 

Keith nodded. He settled next to Lance while Hunk got seated on Pidge’s side. He leaned over and took one. 

 

All of them happily eat the cupcakes, until Pidge broke it once more. “How do you think you did on your oral exam, Hunk?” 

 

Hunk munched on his cupcake before gulping and answered, “I think I did fine? I was really nervous so, I stumbled over my words a bit but I hope my professor noticed.”

 

“That’s rough, buddy,” Keith stated and took a bite of his cupcake.

 

Lance’s lips twisted a bit and nudged Keith’s side lightly with his elbow. “I’m sorry, pal. I’m sure you did well.” He offered a lopsided, half smile. 

 

Keith glanced over at Lance and then back at Hunk. He gulped. “If you worked hard for it, you did just fine.”

 

“Yeah, you do well in school anyways. Don’t worry too much,” Pidge added, a smile on her face.

 

Hunk grinned. “Thanks, guys.”

 

“No problem,” Lance responded.

 

They finished their cupcakes before leaving to their separate ways. Pidge and Hunk to their own apartment and Keith with Lance did the same.

 

They said nothing, but it was clear Lance has something in his mind. 

 

“So… How was class?” Keith asked, breaking the awkward silence.

 

Lance glance over at him, slightly shocked that he spoke. “Good… Good. Um, how was yours?”

 

“Fine,” Keith responded. “What is bothering you? You’re usually more talkative than this.”

 

“Just thinking about stuff,” Lance said. He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Are you still upset about not being in a relationship?” Keith asked. “Did the…” he paused, pushing down a blush, “Did the cuddling not help?”

 

“No, no,” Lance said, shaking his hands in front of him. He turned to face him, stopping. “It helped.. A lot… but I still miss being able to hold someone that way. You said it was only a one time thing…”

 

Keith chewed on his inner cheek as Lance waited for him to say something. He didn’t. Instead, Keith walked ahead, his cheeks flushed. 

 

Lance watched for a second. (I hate when you walk away, but I love to watch you leave..) He huffed and jogged to catch up. “Did I something wrong? Do you really want to pretend it never happened?”   
  


“That’s not-” Keith huffed and stopped walking. “What do you want me to do about it, Lance?”

 

“I don’t know,” Lance admitted. “Did you enjoy the cuddling?”   
  


“I did…” Keith mumbled, looking away from Lance. “It was nice…”

 

“You liked it?” Lance asked.

 

“Yes,” Keith stated.

 

Lance blinked. “I want it, and you like it…” He thought out loud.

 

“Where are you going with this, Lance?” Keith asked.

 

“Okay, just hear me out,” Lance said. “So, how about we continue doing it?”   
  


Keith raised a single eyebrow. “What?”

 

“We cuddle with each other,” Lance said, motioning at both of them. “I’ll be happy because I get to hold someone, and you will be happy because you like it. It’s a win-win.” He grinned, proud of himself to have come up with that idea.

 

“I’m not sure about this,” Keith responded. “It’s pretty much like we are fuck buddies, but we’re not having sex. Just cuddling?”

 

Lance nodded. “Just cuddling,” he repeated. “Completely platonic. Come on, what is the worst that could happen?”

 

Keith lips pressed together into a straight line. “Okay, I accept.”

 

Lance smiled. “Great. It is a deal.” He stuck out his open hand towards Keith.

 

Keith looked at it and then back at Lance’s face to see if he was serious.

 

“Please? They always do this in movies,” Lance proposed.

 

“But we’re not in a movie. This is real life, not a story,” Keith said, rolling his eyes.

 

“Don’t be a wet blanket, Keith. It’s just to seal the deal. Heh, that rhymed,” he smiled at his own self.

 

“Fine,” he clasped his hand with Lance’s and shook it twice, just to amuse Lance.

 

Lance grinned and pulled his hand away from his grasp, their touch lingering a moment longer before being away. They walked next to each other, satisfied with what they agreed to and traveled by foot back to their dorm.


	4. Cuddling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just Keith and Lance cuddling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just a filler so it is a bit short, hope you don't mind. I should post another chapter soon! Enjoy :3

It was night, the same day they came home from eating Hunk's pastries at the park. The first night of the deal.

 

They stared at one another, both on their assigned bed. All their school assignments were finished and they were prepped to go to sleep. Lance sighed before speaking, “So. Do you want to start today?”

 

Keith nodded. “I mean, sure.”

 

Lance smiled at his response. “Great. Do you want to use my bed, or yours?”

 

Keith looked between the beds. “How about we push them together? That way we don’t have to decide.”

Lance nodded. “Yeah, that works.” He got up from the bed as Keith did the same. They moved random items from the space that separated the bed before pushing the beds together.

 

Lance moved in front of the bedroom to admire their worked. It was centered. The red covers clashed with the blue, but they could fix that later. For now, sleep. 

 

Keith was already plopped down the newly upgraded matress. He laid at his back while Lance moved to his side and sat down. Keith turned to face him and opened his arms.

 

Lance raised an eyebrow.

 

“Come on. I want to try to be the big spoon,” Keith said. 

 

“But I’m taller. I’m suppose to spoon you, not the other way around.” He laid down anyway, facing Keith. 

 

The mulleted man bunched his lips together and let his arms go limp and fall to the bed. “Stop whining and just go with it. You might like it.”

 

Lance smiled softly. “Fine, but that wasn’t what I was worried about.”

 

“Then what was?” Keith asked, once again, opening his arms so Lance could fit.

 

Lance shook his head. “Never mind. Don’t think about it too much, Keith.” He slipped into Keith’s personal space. His arm hovered over Keith’s waist. “May I?”

 

Keith chuckled. “Dumbass, you don’t have to ask.”

 

Lance smiled. “I just had to make sure.” He slowly wrapped his arms around the other male’s small waist. He leaned his head against Keith’s chest, able to hear his heartbeat. It was beating fast. “Relax, Keith.” He mumbled into the other’s shirt.

 

Keith scoffed, “I am relaxed.”

 

Lance hummed in a ‘I don’t believe you’ tone. 

 

Keith pulled Lance closer, laying his chin on top of his head. He took a deep breath, his body not as tense as before.

 

“There you go,” Lance teased.

 

“Shut up, Lance, go to sleep,” Keith commanded.

 

“I would say the same to you,” Lance retorted sleepily. “Good night..” 

 

“Good night,” Keith responded softly. 

 

A hesitant touch was on the tip of Lance’s hair. He knew it was Keith wanting to touch his hair. He didn’t stop him, nor encourage this action. He just stayed quiet as he slowly drifted to sleep. 


	5. No Homo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just more fluff, this time longer than last. Also, two chapters in a row? Gasp.

Lance awoke, his arm numb. Pins and needled on the arm beneath Keith. He bit his lip at the feeling, not wanting to wake the other so he stayed as still as possible.   
   
The slight moment Lance made, trying to wake his hand up, woke something else. More like someone. Keith. He looked down at him and pulled his arm away from beneath Lance’s head. It too, was also asleep. He sat up, releasing Lance’s hand.  
   
Lance chuckled as Keith comically had his hair shooting up everywhere from sleep and shaking his hand rapidly as an attempt to wake his hand. Lance himself clenched his hand before opening it.  
   
Soon both had no sleeping limbs. They stretched, waking their muscles, yawning. “Good morning, Hot Topic,” Lance greeted.  
   
Keith clicked his tongue, slumping forwards. “Awe, you think I’m hot,” he responded mindlessly, a small cat like smirk on his lips.  
   
Lance huffed at his response, rolling his eyes. “Really?”  
   
“Yes, really,” Keith said.   
   
Lance chuckled his head. He leaned against the headpiece of the bed.   
   
Keith laid down, his head against Lance’s legs.  
   
Lance looked down at him, raising an eyebrow. “Um…”  
   
“Oh, sorry.” Keith scratched at his cheek and started to sit up. “Is that not okay?”  
   
“No, no, it’s fine. Sorry, lay back down,” Lance insisted.  
   
“Oh, okay.” He laid back down, facing Lance. “Like that?” He looked up at Lance, beneath his long eyelashes.  
   
“Yeah…” Lance said. “Like that…” He looked down at Keith for a few seconds before looking away, leaving Lance flustered and avoided eye contact. “How did you sleep?” He cautiously looked back at Keith.  
   
Keith had a soft blush on his cheeks and not meeting Lance’s eyes. He just looked at his stomach. “I slept alright. Sleeping with you helps a lot.”   
   
Lance’s breath hitched on the way that sounded. “Please don’t say that anywhere else but here.”  
   
Keith furrowed his eyebrows, looking up at Lance innocently. “But why? That is what we are doing.”  
   
“Keith,” Lance warned before sighing. “Sleeping with someone could mean something else.”  
   
Keith’s face formed an expression of understatement before smirking but quickly going to a look of innocent. So quickly, Lance just figured he imagined it. 

“But we are sleeping together, Lance,” Keith stated. “Did you want to keep the fact that we slept together the past two nights?”  
   
Lance face palmed, hiding his face beneath his hand. “Keith…” He warned once more. “Stop it. I know what you are doing.”  
   
Keith chuckled. “Okay, alright. But seriously, do you want to hide the fact that we are sleeping in the same bed now?”  
   
Lance removed his hand from his face and looked at Keith. “I feel like that is a personal thing. ? Why should people know? It’s just sleep. They don’t have to know.”  
   
Keith nodded slowly. “Right. You’re right. Sorry I brought it up.”  
   
“Don’t be sorry,” Lance said, “It’s fine. Hey, it’s the weekend. No classes for you, right?”   
   
Keith hummed a yes response. “No classes.”  
   
“Great, wanna just Netflix and chill all day?” Lance asked.  
   
“Sure, what do you want to watch?” Keith asked.  
   
“Hmmm. What do you like to watch?” Lance questioned.  
   
“Documentaries on cryptids,” Keith responded with no hesitation.  
   
“Gravity Falls it is,” Lance said.   
   
“Gravity falls?” Keith asked. “Never heard of it.”  
   
“You will love it. I will disown you as a friend if you don’t,” Lance joked. He nudged Keith to sit up so he could grab his computer.   
   
Keith nodded. “Okay, I don’t want to lose you as a friend though. So what if I don’t?”  
   
Lance was off the bed and reached down to the floor and got his computer. He faced Keith to see if he was serious. He was. “I was just joking, Keith. We’ll still be friends.” He sat next to Keith.  
   
“Oh, I knew that,” Keith said. He scooted closer to Lance as he opened it and signed in. Kiss cartoon appeared on his screen soon after. He searched for Gravity Falls.  
   
Keith leaned closer to Lance to see the screen, his cheek near his shoulder. “What is Gravity Falls about?”  
   
Lance looked over at him and the same time Keith did, their noses brushing against each other. They pulled away from each other in instinct, their faces heating up. “Umm… here.” He placed the computer between them so they had equal space and no need to lean in. “You’ll see what it’s about.”  
   
Lance kept his eyes on the screen, refusing to look at Keith. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Keith staring as if he wanted to say something.   
   
Keith opened his mouth to say something. “I’m-”  
   
Lance interrupted, “You know, Mabel reminds me a lot of my little sister.” He tried to avoid talking about earlier.  
   
Keith sighed before responding, “Does she now?”  
   
“Yeah, she is always so happy, joyful, and creative,” Lance said. “Now hush and just watch.”  
   
Keith nodded. He slumped on the bed, trying to get comfortable. After a few moments, he shifted again and again.   
   
Lance paused Gravity Falls. “What?”

“I can’t get comfortable,” Keith said with a slight pout.  
   
It took all of Lance’s will power not to point out how cute that was. He pulled the computer to his lap and stretched his arm out towards Keith. “Come here.”  
   
Keith did. He leaned his head against Lance’s shoulder as Lance placed his arm around him.  
   
“No, homo though,” Lance said causing Keith to laugh.   
   
“Okay, no homo.”


	6. I am Bisexual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith accidentally helped Lance figure out his sexuality and he is happy about it.

Lance and Keith have been watching Gravity Falls all morning. They have been watching the Pine twins solve mysteries and go on adventures all morning and past noon. Lance decided to look at the time to see it was around 2:00 PM. 

 

He blinked. “Wow, we’ve been watching for 5 hours. Want to stop and do something else?” he suggested

 

Keith bunched his lips to the side. He pulled his arms away from Lance, neither had even noticed that had happened. He sat up and stretched. “As much as I would like to see more, I am already in love with this show, I want to go out.”

 

“D-do you m-mean on a d-d-date?” Lance asked, putting a shy expression on his face, holding his hands on top of his chest where his heart would be, feigned a stutter.

 

Keith rolled his eyes, he lightly shoved Lance. “You know what I mean, dumbass.”

 

Lance chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. I get you. I’m just teasing, Mullet.”

 

“What do you want to do then?” Keith asked, hopping towards the edge of the bed, his body turned towards Lance.

 

Lance hummed. “Want to just walk around?”

 

“Oh. We could visit my brother?” Keith suggested. “I haven’t seen him in a while and he lives nearby. Then we can just wander around.”

 

“You have a brother?” Lance asked, raising an eyebrow. “How come you never told me about him?”

 

“Never came up in conversation, besides he just moved in. He worked in the military, but he’s retired I guess? I’m not sure,” Keith answered with a shrug.

 

“Ah, I see. I’m already going to meet the family? Take me out to dinner first, pretty boy,” Lance teased, sticking out his tongue.

 

Keith pointed a threatening finger at Lance before saying, “Put that tongue away!” He said before laughing softly. “I would take you out to dinner, but we are college kids and broke.”

 

Lance smiled as he enjoyed the sight of Keith laughing. “True. I will make it a mission to take you out to dinner some time.” He did not realize what he said until it was too late.

 

Both boys’ eyes widened as a blush formed on their cheeks.

 

Lance quickly added while shaking his hands. “As friends of course! You are my cuddle buddy and all..” he trailed off.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Of course,” Keith responded with a nod. “What else would we be?”

 

Lance cleared his throat as Keith got up. “So we are going to visit your brother?”

 

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” Keith said and walked to his clothing drawer. “Oh, by the way,” he paused, hesitant to say what he wanted to say.

 

“By the way what?” Lance pushed.

 

“Um. Shiro, my brother, lives with his boyfriend,” Keith stated, looking through his clothing instead of meeting Lance’s gaze. 

 

Lance said nothing for a moment before nodding and realizing Keith could not see. “Cool.”

 

Keith slowly turned to face Lance, a new dark shirt in his hands. “Cool? That’s it?”

 

Lance furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and smiled awkwardly. “What else am I supposed to say? He has a boyfriend, so what? Everyone can love who they want. Does that mean he is gay?”

 

Keith shook his head. “Well, kind of? He’s bisexual.”

 

Lance blinked, never hearing that word. In his years alive, he had never really been exposed to the LGBT+ community besides Pidge being transgender so this was new for him. “What does that mean?”

 

Keith stared at him, as if not to believe him. “You seriously not know?”   
  


“No, Mullet, so don’t leave me in the dark,” Lance said. “I mean, bi means two and sexual is… well, sexual. So I am guessing it mean liking both genders?” He guessed.

 

“You are correct. It means being attracted to both genders,” Keith nodded.

 

Lance nodded apprehensively. Then, it clicked. He looked up at Keith. It all made sense now, what he was. What his sexuality was. He was not straight, or gay. There was a name for it! “Holy shit…” All those nights where he would lay awake, wondering why he was this way. He was attracted to both genders. He thought he was straight, but he also liked males. All of it made sense. He was enlightened.

 

Keith furrowed his eyebrows, confused most likely. “What?”

 

“Keith!” He said and got up. He strolled towards the mulleted man and grabbed him by his arms.

 

Keith tensed, his eyes widening. “W-what?” he asked again, louder.

 

“I know what I am!” Lance squealed, his smile wide, crinkling the corners of his eyes. He looked like a kid.

 

Keith scanned his face. “Um.. You’re Lance?”

 

“No!” Lance responded, causing Keith to raise an eyebrow. “Well, yes… but besides the point. Keith, you beautiful mulleted boy, I’m bisexual.” He let go of Keith and clapped his hands.

 

"Keith blushed, flustered. “I’m sorry what?”

 

“I’m bisexual,” Lance stated plainly. “Thank you. I finally know what I am. I am so happy I could kiss you!”

 

Keith choked on nothing. “You’re welcome?” He said wearily.

 

“God, it feels so good to know,” Lance said, his eyes distant.

 

“Well, umm. Since we are in the topic of sexuality,” Keith said. “I am gay.”

 

“You’re gay?” Lance asked, being pulled away from his thoughts. “That’s cool, man.” He smiled, being very much okay with that. 


	7. Your Brother is Hot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance go to Visit Shiro. They met his boyfriend. The world must be small because they know him, Lance just doens't remember at first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that I post so inconsistently. I just post when I have my computer and feel like writing which is often, but not consistent. Do you guys like the short chapters or do you want them to be longer? Does anyone even read this?
> 
> If you did, you lost the game ;3

The walk to Keith’s brother’s home was not that far. Only about 10 minutes, with short cuts in questionable areas.

 

Lance would try to pull Keith away from them and just go the long way, but no. Keith insisted it was safe and went into them, leaving Lance with no choice but to follow.

 

Fortunately, nobody bothered them. Lance was thankful for that. Probably because they took one look at Keith and didn’t want to deal with his angst that day. The boy just oozes with ‘don't mess with me’ vibes. The whole ‘Lone wolf’ thing really worked for him.

 

But Lance didn’t like that, but of course, he was not going to admit it. Nobody deserves to be alone all the time, not even Keith. Besides he was good company, he supposed. Again, not going to admit his thoughts. 

 

Keith stopped in front of a cute pastel yellow house. It was relatively small, only one story. The garden didn’t have much besides grass. It was simple. A window on each side of the house.

 

Keith walked up to the door, knocking into wood.

 

Lance followed and they waited a few seconds. 

 

The door opened revealing a tall man. Wow. Lance needed a second because Jesus, this guy was an angel sent from heaven and he was a mere human lucky enough to be graced with his presence.

 

He was a loose, no sleeve shirt, revealing his toned muscles, not leaving much to the imagination.

 

He sported an under cut with a white tuft of hair on the front. His face was chiseled, as made by Michelangelo himself. A scar was across his nose and touched his cheeks just a little and a metal arm replaced his right one, scars covering his arms. It added to his badassness and made him look all the more hot.

 

He looked at Keith and then back at Shiro. He couldn’t see the resemblance. Sure Keith is smokin’, but his brother? Damn. Too bad he was taken or else he would have said something.

 

Keith must have seen Lance’s confusion because he answered an unspoken question. “We’re not really brothers. He is my step brother.” He looked back at Shiro, smiled softly and greeted him.

 

Shiro greeted back. He looked at Lance and stuck out his metal hand. “Lance, right?” 

 

Lance didn’t question how he knew his name, he looked at his hand for a second and smiled before clamped their hands together. Metal touching flesh. “And you’re Shiro?”

 

“Yes, nice to meet you. Keith has told me a lot about you,” he smiled softly, his beauty shining even more. Oh god. 

 

Wait… “He has?” Lance asked confused looking back at Keith.

 

Keith snorted, a soft pink hue on his cheeks. “Yeah, on how annoying you are.”

 

“Oh,” Lance said, for some reason feeling a slight sting in his chest. Could mean nothing. Maybe heartburn? It felt oddly familiar… No, it can’t be. This is Keith we are talking about. “Not as annoying as you are mullet,” he snapped half-heartedly

 

Keith blinked, as if he expected more. He opened his mouth as if to say something but was interrupted when someone walked in. “Oh, we have guests.”

 

Lance removed his attention from Keith to the new person. They looked a lot like.. Pidge? “Hey, I never knew you were dating Shiro, Pidge. Good job. When did you get a haircut though? It looks nice.

 

The assumed to be Pidge blinked. “I didn’t… What the fuck is a Pidge?”

 

“Woah, are you a doppleganger or something? You look a lot like my friend. Her real name is Katie, but her friends call her Pidge,” Lance clarified.

 

“Oh,” the person said before understandment developed on his expression. “Oh! Yeah, Kati- Sorry, Pidge is my sister.”

 

“What the quiznack? She never told me she had a brother. Why am I learning about everyone’s secret brother today?” Lance asked.

 

“You seriously didn’t know she had a brother?” Keith asked. “She has talked about him before.”

 

Lance hummed as he thought back to all the times he has been with Pidge. A name popped up, but he had to be sure. He looked at the male, “Is your name.. Matt?”

 

“Yup,” the bo- Matt, responded. “That’s me. How is Pidge by the way?”

 

“She’s fine, why must you ask me? Why don't you just ask her yourself?” Lance questioned. 

 

Matt looked guilty at the floor and looked down at his floor. He pushed up the glasses on his slim nose. “We are not on the best terms right now. I.. I haven't tried talking to her yet. I’m not ready.”

 

Lance wanted to push the subject further, but even him knew when to leave it be and said nothing.

 

“So.. Keith, why did you come here?” Shiro asked, trying to break the silence that had settled.

 

Keith hummed in response, looking back at Shiro. “Oh. Can’t a brother just come visit his brother? You’ve been gone for the longest time and now you’re back. I had to see you.” He punched him playfully on his shoulder.

 

Shiro furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Keith, it’s been weeks. Why now?”

 

Keith looked at Shiro with pleading eyes. “We’ll talk about it later.”

 

“That sounds nice, mcangst, but we were just going to leave on a date so…” Matt stated. 

 

Keith narrowed his eyes at the nickname while Lance snorted. “Shiro, I like your boyfriend.”

 

Shiro just smiled softly and shook his head. “I mean, both of you could come with. We were just going out to dinner.”

 

Lance’s mouth watered. He just realized they had not had breakfast. To him, it sounded like free food. “Since you are offering, I would love to.” He looked at Keith to receive his answer.

 

Matt walked over to Shiro and gladly clasped his hand into the other’s metal one. “Great. Sounds like a double date.”

 

“Double date?” Keith stuttered, his cheeks pink as well as Lance’s.

 

They exchanged glances. “We’re not dating.”

 

“You’re not?” Matt asked, not an ounce of apology in his voice when he said, “Sorry. I just thought you both looked cute together, like you were already a couple. Much tension between you.”

 

“There is nothing between us,” Keith moved his hand between them. 

 

“Yeah, we just happen to be very good friends,” Lance stated.

 

“Alright then,” Matt said, seemingly disappointed. “Still up to eating with us?”

 

“I can never turn down free food,” Lance said. “Where were you going?”

 

Shiro answered, “Well, we are new around the area, but we heard there was a nice italian restaurant nearby. Is that fine?”

 

“Sounds great,” Lance responded and looked at Keith for approval.”

 

The latter just nodded. 

 

With that, they were out the door.


	8. Silent Exchanges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith go on a 'double date' with Shiro and Matt. There is something beneath the eye going on with Matt and Lance is dying to know, but remains hushed. Even a loud mouth like Lance knows when it is time to speak and when to keep his mouth shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually really liked the way this turned out. I tried to make it longer and contain more words than previous chapter to slow down things just a tad. I did notice I was going a bit fast with Lance and Keith's relationship with the help of a commenter so, I will try to take it down a notch or two. Hope you enjoy!

 

In unison and unspoken, they decided to walk there.

 

Lance and Keith behind Matt and Shiro.

 

Matt and Shiro walked as they are, a couple. Hands being held by one another, little distance between them. Matt leaning into Shiro. They looked… disgustingly cute.

 

Ugh, it made Lance’s desire for a relationship grow. He wanted that contact with someone. Cuddling with Keith was not enough. 

 

He must have sighed at his thoughts because Keith asked, “What’s wrong?”

 

“I can’t tell you or else it would break our deal. I promised I wouldn’t complain anymore,” Lance said.

 

Keith didn’t understand for a few moments but when he followed the other’s gaze, he understood.“Is it because they are holding hands?”

 

Lance just nodded.

 

Keith mused for a few seconds as hummed. He hesitantly reached towards Lance’s hand.

 

Lance thought he was going to grab his hand, making his heart skip a beat in his chest. However, Keith did not. Instead, he did something even cuter (In Lance’s opinion). Keith held Lance’s pinky finger with his own. 

 

Keith avoided eye contact with Lance by looking ahead. The only signal that Keith was fully aware of what he did was the strong blush on his pale cheeks and a strain in his jaw. 

 

God he was so cute, Lance wanted to die. It was such a small action, but it meant the world to the blue eyed male. He felt less alone, even if  they were not as close as Matt and Shiro who were practically one person. But they were close enough to be linked. Like they were a new couple, just getting used to one another.

 

His finger tingling at Keith’s touch as if electricity were running through his veins. His heart rate accelerated at the touch. His chest felt full. He couldn’t help, but smile. Maybe being single won’t be bad as he thought, as long as he had Keith as his cuddle buddy. 

 

He inwardly wished the italian restaurant were farther just so he could enjoy the feeling of Keith’s skin against his. No, it is not because he liked Keith in that way, Lance was just touched deprived or something. Obviously. Nothing more.

 

If they noticed Keith and Lance holding hands earlier, they had said nothing. Maybe a suggestive look from Matt, but it was hard to tell.

 

The italian restaurant was small and fairly crowded inside. They were seated at a booth, both pairs on their own both facing the other.

“How is school?” Shiro asked, to break the ice.

 

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Really? That is the most dad question ever.”

 

“What? Is it against the law to want to know more of my little brother?” Shiro teased. “But really, how is it? You’re not getting into trouble, are you?”

 

“No, why would you assume that?” Keith said, looking away from Shiro and down at the menu that had been handed.

 

Shiro hummed, unconvinced. 

 

Keith lowered the menu enough to look at Shiro. “I’m not,” he insisted.

 

Shiro raised his arms defensively, “Alright, alright. I believe you.”

 

Keith huffed, grumpily. Mc Angst strikes again.

 

Lance smiled fondly at the brother’s interactions, being reminded of his own siblings. He stole a glance at Matt to see that he was also watching the brothers. Something was off with his smile. It almost looked… sad. His eyes held something similar to regret. Almost like reminiscing a memory with someone dead, or someone you have not seen in a long time. Longing to see them once more.

 

Lance badly wanted to ask what was wrong,  what he could do to help. Matt met his gaze. He shook his head, pushing the unspoken question away. Lance bunched his lips together, looking down at the menu. The curiosity burned in a pit in his stomach. He was most definitely going to ask Pidge later when possible. Apparently Keith was not the only mysterious and angsty person in this restaurant.

 

Shiro chuckled at whatever Keith had said, turning his attention back to his lover. He gave him a once over and with one instant, knowing that was not feeling hot at the moment. He gave him a reassuring smile, most likely had squeezed Matt’s hand, or skinny thigh beneath the table before placing a light kiss on his temple.

 

Lance chewed on his bottom lip, pushing the growing questions deeper inside. Trying to stop them from crawling their way out of his lips and ruining the sensitive moment with Shiro and Matt exchanging a short, brief, silent conversation with just looks.

 

Keith must have taken his expression towards the couple as a yearning desire for his own partner because he brushed his hand against Lance’s clenched one on top of the leather seat, pulling the latter’s attention to the former. 

 

Keith smiled gently causing Lance’s expression to soften. “Have you chosen something to eat yet?”

 

“Um, not yet.” Lance picked up the menu back up, scanning the variety of foods, all being astonishingly mouth watering. Man, was he famished. “I’ll go with Ribollita.” He looked back at Keith, smiling softly, giving him a silent thank you. “Have you chosen something?”

 

“I think I will go with Spicy Prawn Pasta,” Keith said as he glanced at the menu.

 

“Of course you would choose something spicy,” Lance said, shaking his head earnestly. 

 

“What is that suppose to me?” Keith narrowed his purple eyes, impassionately, almost like a tease.

 

“Nothing, Mullet,” Lance said. 

 

Just then, a waitress appeared and took their orders and left just as quickly as she arrived.

 

The food arrived a while later. All eat in silence, just enjoying their food. It was not an awkward silence, it was a comforting one. Occasionally, they would look and just smile.

 

Not everything must contain words. Sometimes, a single, nonverbal look is enough to speak thousand words.


	9. More Questions than Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little angst I suppose? You get to learn more about Pidge's relationship with Matt. Hope you enjoy!

“What do you guys want to watch?” Hunk asked, scanning through the movie titles passing by.

 

“It’s your turn to choose, Hunk,” Pidge pointed out, hogging all the popcorn to her lap. She was pulling up her long hair into a loose, messy pony tail. 

 

“Yeah, you usually choose good movies anyway,” Lance added, reaching over from next to Pidge to steal some popcorn, only to get his hand smacked away. “Ow!”

 

“My popcorn,” Pidge responded, sticking out her tongue. “I microwaved them. I asked you if you wanted some, you said no. So, no popcorn for you.”

 

Lance pouted and looked over at Hunk. “Hunkleberry?” He said, attempting his best puppy dog eyes he could make.

 

Hunk stared at him, trying to stay strong and not break under his gaze. He let out a breath, “Fine. You cheated by using puppy dog eyes.” He leaned the green plastic bowl towards Lance.

 

Lance smiled. “Thank you, bud.” He took a handful and eat some.

 

Hunk finally stopped on a movie. “How about this one? I heard it’s good, but never watched it.”

 

“There’s a first for everything,” Pidge responded. “Play it.”

 

Lance agreed, his cheeks full of popcorn as he munched. 

 

The room was dark, the only light coming from the tv playing Kubo and the Two Strings. It was movie night for a reason.

 

Lance swallowed. “Hey, Pidge?”

 

She hummed a response, half-ignoring him as she tried to watch the movie and understand what he was saying.

“What is going on with your brother?” Lance asked, glancing over at Pidge. A small nudge was given to his side, but decided to ignoring, thinking he imagined it.

 

Pidge’s jaw tightened, although you could not tell from the blanket draped over her head. She hugged the blanket closer. “Which brother?”

 

“You have other brothers?” Lance questioned. 

 

“No, I was just,” she paused before mumbling something that Lance almost did not catch, “Stalling… What about Matt?”

 

“I saw him yesterday,” Lance started, watching the movie now more intently than Pidge. “He said you two have not talked in awhile.”

 

Hunk watched, not saying anything, not knowing if he should stop Lance or not.

 

“You saw him?” Pidge asked, pulling the blanket down. Hairs stood up from her ponytail. “How is he?”

 

Lance blinked and looked back at Pidge. “He’s… fine? I mean, he was with Shiro, Keith’s brother. Did you know Keith had a step-brother?”

 

“Shiro is back?” Pidge mumbled. Her hand flattened her hair. 

 

“Wow, you really have not talked to him in a long time,” Lance stated. “You should try.”

 

“Don’t you think I have?” Pidge said, her voice raised.She got up from her seat, moving her hands exasperatedly. “Because trust me, I have. Multiple times. He’s the one who has to talk to me!”

 

Lance shrinked back. “I’m sorry, Pidge. I did not mean to hit your buttons.”

 

“Well, you did,” she sniffled. She took a deep breath, rubbing her face. She pulled them away, her face pink and moist. Trying to calm herself, she sat down on the couch. “We’re just.. Going through something.”

 

“What happened?” Lance asked, leaning closer to Pidge.

 

Hunk sat down next to Pidge, slowly wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a soft hug.

 

Pidge looked up at Lance and then down at her hands. She twisted her ring finger as an attempt to further calm her. “He-” she covered her mouth like she was choking on her words. “I miss him,” she said, choosing not to speak of it longer. “He was just going through something and…” she swallowed back something. “He needed space, that’s all.”

 

That was obviously not all. If Matt just wanted some space, Pidge would not be weeping in front of Lance right now. He had more questions than answers, but he decided not to push further. He chewed his lip before joining Hunk with hugging her.

 

“It’s okay, Pidge,” he kissed the top of her head. “You don’t have to tell me.”

 

They stayed in silence before Pidge let out a broken, short laugh and pushed them away. “Sorry I got all mopey with you.”

 

Hunk and Lance offered soft smiles. 

 

“Let’s just watch the movie, yes?” Pidge suggested, sniffing.

 

“Of course,” Lance responded, casually taking Pidge’s popcorn away from her. 

 

Pidge smacked his arm with a small, appreciative smile. “It’s still mine. Go share with Hunk.”

 

Hunk put the green bowl between them and turned back to the movie. 


	10. Holt Siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance make a plan to bring the Holt siblings back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wahoo! We made it to double digits, baby! Thank you if you have made it this far ^u^ Sorry this is kinda short...

The next night, after classes, Keith and Lance were cuddled up on the bed, facing each other for once. Lance was pointlessly playing with Keith’s hair as the latter’s eyes were closed and his face displayed utter bliss. He was not asleep, just relaxed.

 

Lance ran his thumb over Keith’s cheek causing him to open his eyes in confusion. Lance quickly pulled his hand away. “Sorry, that was an accident.”

 

Keith didn’t look fully convinced, but hummed a response. He closed his eyes again. “What’s bothering you?”

 

“What do you mean?” Lance asked. 

 

“You’ve been quiet for a really long time, that never happens,” Keith smirks lazily.

 

Lance took offence to that but didn’t respond. He stopped playing with Keith’s hair.

 

Keith opened his eyes once more, looking up at Lance. “Really, what’s bothering you?”

 

“Do you know what is going on between Matt and Pidge?” Lance asked, scanning Keith’s face for an answer.

 

“Only a little bit,” Keith responded.

 

Lance shifted, leaning against his elbow. “Tell me. I want to know.”

 

“Lance, don’t be nosy.” Keith sat up, rubbing his eyes in a sleepy way. “If Pidge wanted you to know, she would have told you already. Ask her, I am in no place to reveal that information.”

 

Lance pouted, sitting up and crossing his legs. “She only told me a little bit. If I can’t know, I at least want to fix Pidge and Matt’s relationship. Matt seems to miss Pidge and so does she. They’re siblings, Keith.”

 

“Not everyone can have such a good relationship with their brothers and sisters like you can, Lance,” Keith responded, pulling his hands away from his eyes.

 

“I know, but still. A lot of things can be solved by talking it out, at least that is what cartoons have taught me,” Lance joked half-heartedly. “Come on, don’t you want to see them happy?”

 

Keith blinked slowly for a moment, processing and thinking. “I mean, of course but how would we do it?”

 

“I have a plan. We are already going to hang out at that nearby coffee shop Hunk works for the discounts, why not invite Matt as well? Pidge doesn’t have to know. It can be like Matt just happens to be there.”

 

“Pidge won’t be happy when she finds out you did that behind her back,” Keith stated.

 

“I know, but she will forgive me once they are talking to each other again,” Lance smiled hopefully. “Don’t you think?”

 

“Alright, but if she asks, it was all you,” Keith said.

“What? Keith, take the fall with me. You’re the one allowing it,” Lance teasingly shoved Keith as he laughed.

 

“Okay, fine. Just because you are my friend,” Keith responded with a smile.

 

“Friend, right,” Lance repeated, feeling a familiar sting in his chest but decided to ignore it once more. 

 

Keith furrowed his eyebrows a bit. “Something wrong?” he asked.

 

“No, nothing,” Lance shook his head. He laid back down, opening his arms to Keith. “Come here.”

 

Keith laid in the space next to him, tucking his head beneath Lance’s chin. “Good night.”

 

Lance returned those words as a single one echoed through his head as he drifted to sleep. 

 

“Friend.”


	11. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance go through plan 'Holt siblings.'

“Pidge. If you keep having that much caffeine every day, you are going to die. Chill,” Lance stated as he sat on their usual corner of the small cafe on a couch. They were green and soft. Keith and Lance sat on a loveseat. 

 

Pidge sat on a bean bag chair next to Lance. “God, I hope so.” She took a sip of her hot coffee. “Besides, I need coffee to function. If I don’t die first, you will Mr. go-heavy-on-the-chocolate,” she teased, looking up at him.

 

Lance scoffed, nudging the small girl with his foot. “At least I am not as bad as Keith. 

He seems like he would drink the strongest coffee with his emo vibes but his drink is like 90% sugar,” Lance exaggerated.

 

Keith poked him accusingly. “Hey, it’s not that sweet.”

 

“Yes it is, just like you,” Lance winked, while sending him finger guns with the click of his tongue.

 

Keith’s eyes widened, a soft pink hue on his cheeks.

 

Lance opened his mouth to ask if he went too far, but he was interrupted.

 

“Guys, stop being so gay,” Pidge said, pushing Lance’s leg. “I feel offended I was not the first to know you guys are dating now.”

 

“W-we’re not dating, though,” Lance stated.

 

“Seriously? You two were holding hands on your way here,” Pidge raised an eyebrow.

 

“You saw that? And we were holding pinkies, not hands,” Lance clarified.

 

“We’re not there yet...” Keith added softly

 

“It’s not like you were hiding it, you two were smiling wide and swinging your hands like toddlers,” Pidge teased.

 

Lance glanced at Keith. “We’re just really good friends.” He gulped those words down. Just really good friends, that is all they’ll ever be. But what if he wanted more?

 

“Best friends don’t hold pinkies,” Pidge stated, narrowing her eyes at them.

 

“Yes, they do. Girls do it all the time. Besides, we sleep together too,” Keith joined. 

 

Lance looked over at Keith with a ‘really’ look. “Not really helping, Mullet.”

 

“Sorry?” he responded awkwardly. He seemed apologetic.“I tried.”

 

Pidge was laughing at this point, wiping fake tears away from her eyes. “Ah, that was great Keith. Thank you for that.”

 

“Katie?” A familiar voice asked.

 

Pidge visibly tensed at the voice, almost dropping her cup of coffee. She looked down, placing the paper cup on her lap, holding it in a strong grip, crumbling the sides a bit. “Um, so you guys are really not dating?” She asked, ignoring the person who said her name.

 

Lance met Keith’s gaze before looking up to meet Matt’s eyes. He mouthed an ‘I’m sorry.’ He furrowed his eyebrows upwards and looked at Pidge. “Pidge, he called your name.”

 

“P-probably another Katie,” she mumbled, tightening her hold, hot coffee dripping off the sides. It should have burn, but she seemed too busy in her own mind to notice.

 

“Okay,” Keith said softly. He moved from Lance’s side and kneeled down infront of her. He placed his hands on top of her’s and gently removed her hands from the cup. He let out a small hiss at the contact with the liquid and placed the cup on the table. He went to grab napkins.

 

“Pidge, you should talk to him,” Lance said.

 

Pidge wiped her hands on her skirt. Good thing it was black. “Why is he here? You didn’t plan this, did you?” She gave him an accusative gaze. 

 

“Maybe a little, but he misses you Pidge. Whatever happened, you must talk to him about it,” Lance tried to reason.

 

Pidge pouted. “Please don’t make me.”

 

“Too late. He’s already coming over,” Lance said. He got up. “Talk to him, okay?”

 

Pidge begrudgingly nodded, getting up from the bean bag chair. 

 

Lance moved next to Keith to watch from a distance, but not close enough to hear them. “I hope this works.”

 

“What could go wrong? You got the idea from cartoons,” Keith tried to lighten the mood, wiping his hands on a napkin. 

 

Lance laughed nervously. “Exactly. Now, shush.”

 

Pidge and Matt were talking of who knows what. Pidge looked as if she were going to cry. Matt pulled her into a hug. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest.

 

“Should we leave them alone?” Keith asked. 

 

“Sure, they have some catching up to do,” Lance agreed. “Bye, Hunk.”

 

Hunk looked up from placing some fresh pastries into a display case. “Leaving already?” He followed Keith’s gaze to the Holt siblings and let out a small ‘ah.’ “I’m glad they figured it out.”

 

“Yeah, thanks to me,” Lance said and smiled brightly. 

 

Hunk just smiled. “Well, have a good day.”

 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Keith said with a serious face before cracking a smile.

 

Hunk chuckled. “Nice.”

 

Lance stayed in the middle, confused. “I don’t get it.”

 

“Really? I’ll show you something later so you understand,” Keith said. “Come on, let’s leave.” He wrapped his pinkie finger with Lance’s and lead the way out the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa. Would you look at that? You still have no idea what happened between them. Sorry for that. You might find out eventually ;3


	12. Relax, Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is stressing over something and Lance takes it upon himself to help his cuddle buddy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a filler? It's mostly just to build Lance and Keith's relationship. Still very cute though.

The door of the shared bedroom of both Keith and Lance slammed suddenly and unexpectedly. Lance looked up from his task at hand. He was on the computer, surrounded by papers seemingly doing school work and not on Instagram (only on occasion he would go on. Just for short periods of time of course…). “Woah, someone’s grumpy.”

 

Keith had cringed when the door had made such a loud noise before turning to face Lance with an apologetic expression. “Sorry…”

 

“It’s fine.” Lance half-haphazardly moved the multiple pieces of paper to one side of the bed. He moved to the other side with no items besides a blanket and sat down, his legs hanging off the edge. He patted the spot next to him. “What’s up?”

 

“It’s not really important,” Keith responded as he sat next to Lance, their knees gently touching one another. Neither moved away, but Lance was very much aware of the unnecessary contact.

 

“Come on, tell me. You’re not bothering me, you are helping me. I need a break from all this work I am doing.” He nudged his chin over to his papers and laptop, a soft blue light emitting from the screen. He gave Keith a half smile.

 

Keith followed his gaze and sighed, moving his gaze to his hands. He twiddled his thumbs.“It’s just this class. There is a really big project project coming up and it’s a group project.”

 

“Oh no, already starting off badly,” Lance commented.

 

Keith nodded, a soft chuckle escaped his lips. “Yup. The professor choose the groups and I am of course stuck with these two people which I am sure are a couple. The whole time, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other and ignored me when I tried to actually do some work with them.”

 

“Maybe you could ask the professor to change partners, or just do it by yourself,” Lance suggested with a soft shrug.

 

Keith scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest and nudged his shoulder against Lance’s. “Funny how you think I can talk to a professor. Have you met me? I don’t have the best social skills.”

 

“Don’t think so low of yourself, Keef,” he teased his name, trying to lighten the mood. 

 

Keith managed to crack a small smile. “Thanks, but I won’t be able to."

 

“Tell you what, I’ll come with you as moral support,”  Lance said. He, as casually as he could manage while trying to hide his hesitation, slipped his hand into Keith’s. Their fingers overlapped one another. Lance looked down at their hands, knowing he would break if he saw Keith’s face. He gave it a light reassuring squeeze.

 

Keith leaned his head against Lance’s shoulder and softly said, “Thank you.”

 

Lance stopped himself from shivering, the voice so close to his ear. “You’re welcome,” he responded softly.

 

~~~~~~

 

Keith was still awake later that night. Lance was unable to sleep, feeling Keith’s gaze on his face. He sighed. 

 

Keith flinched, most likely thinking the other was asleep. “Did I wake you up?”

 

“No, I can’t sleep if you are watching me,” Lance said as he opened his eyes. “What’s wrong, grumpy cat?”

 

“Just thinking about what to say tomorrow to the professor,” Keith responded, choosing to ignore one of the many nicknames he has been given by Lance. He stifled a yawn.

 

“You’re overthinking this too much,” Lance said. “Here, turn around.”

 

Keith raised an eyebrow at the command. “Why?”

 

“Just do it, it’s not like I am going to kill you. I do this all the time with my sister when she can’t sleep,” Lance said.

 

Keith hesitantly turns around, his back facing Lance.

 

Lance slowly slid his hands underneath Keith’s sleeping shirt. 

 

The latter tensed. “W-what are you doing?”

 

“Relax, Keith,” Lance responded, slowly sliding his blunt fingernails up and down Keith’s sensitive skin. He could feel the goosebumps on Keith’s bareback.

 

Slowly, Keith relaxed visually, the bumps receding into nothing. His breathing slowed and Lance was sure he was asleep, but he did not stop until he felt tired. He tenderly moved closer and wrapped his arms around him. “Goodnight, Grumpy Cat,” he mumbled softly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make this chapter longer, but failed. Do you have any suggestions on how to make the chapters longer?


	13. Grumpy Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith talks to his professor and Lance is falling

“Grumpy cat, wake up,” Lance said in a soft voice as if he were waking one of his siblings back home. He lightly shook the sleeping mulleted boy. “Wake up before you lose the opportunity to talk to your professor.”

 

Keith groaned, being pulled away from sweet slumber . “I don't want to talk to them. I’ll do it later. Or how about you do it for me?” He asked, looking up at Lance.

 

Lance’s heart skipped a beat. Fuck, why did he have to be so cute. “Are you letting me? Maybe I can convince him that F you truly deserve,” he teased.

 

Keith threw a pillow at Lance. “Fine, fine, I’m up.” He slowly sat up, trying to wake himself by rubbing at his sleepy eyes and quickly got ready. His hair was still messy. 

 

Lance frowned at this and moved towards Keith. He combed his hands through Keith’s hair, working at it so it was somewhat presentable. “Has your hair always been this poofy?”

 

“No,Lance, I just made it extremely messy for this morning just to mess with you,” Keith responded while rolling his eyes. “I wake up next to you, you of all people should know.”

 

Lance smiled. “I know.” His hands hesitantly removed themselves from Keith’s mullet. It always surprised him how soft it really was. “Let’s go, grumpy cat.” 

 

“Can you not call me that?” Keith asked with a small smile showing he really did not mind as he walked towards the door. 

 

“I will once you stop being a grumpy cat, grumpy cat,” Lance said, winking playfully while sending Keith finger guns with the click of his tongue. 

 

Keith rolled his eyes at the other’s well known actions.

 

“Hey, can you hold something for me?” Lance asked suddenly and timidly.

 

Keith raised a questionable eyebrow but extended his hand towards Lance, “Sure.”

 

Lance sucked in a breath before clamping his hand with Keith’s. Their palms were touching, but their finger were not intertwined.

 

Keith said nothing for a second before snorting and covering his face with his hand. There was a slight tint to his cheeks before he turned away, Lance thought maybe he imagined it. 

 

“Is it too much? Do you want to go back to finger holding?” Lance asked, genuinely not wanting to make Keith too uncomfortable in their weird planned situation. 

 

Keith shook his head while pulling his hand away from hiding his face. A blush was not on his cheeks. “No, it’s fine. Cute even.” He faced Lance and smiled. 

 

Lance chuckled, looking away from Keith and rubbing at the back of his neck. “Just trying to comfort you for talking to your professor.”

 

“Right, of course. Thank you,” Keith responded as they walked along, their hands lightly swinging back and forth between them.

 

~~~

 

Keith stared at the door to the classroom for a moment. “What should I say when I see them? I really need to pass this class. I don't want to lose my scholarship.”

 

“You're on a scholarship?” Lance asked.

 

Keith glanced over at Lance. “Yeah, I am. Aren't you as well?”

 

“That I am,” Lance responded. “You’ll do fine, I’ll be behind you to cheer you on.” Lance smiled and gave Keith two thumbs up.

 

Keith smiled weakly and took a breath in before walking inside followed by Lance. Lance stayed by the door as Keith walked to talk to the professor. 

 

Lance waited patiently as Keith did what he had to. He watched as Keith spoke, arms crossed over his chest as he spoke to the other.

 

The classroom was nice and large, the center where the lectures would happen down while the chairs and desks were elevated up all facing said area. 

 

Eventually, Keith came back to Lance 

 

“How did it go?” Lance asked.

 

“Fine. I’m allowed to do the project on my own,” Keith smiled, pride shining through. 

 

Lance raised his hand for a high five. “Good job, Kitten.”

 

Keith met his action with his own raised hand and clapping it against Lance’s. His eyebrows bunched together suspiciously. “Kitten?”

 

“Well, you’re not grumpy anymore and calling you just cat would be weird so… Kitten.” He shrugged. “Do you not like it?”

 

Keith shook his head. “No. It’s fine, I like it. Now I feel like I need to look one for you.”

 

Lance snorted. “Good luck with that.”

 

“Hey, I will find one and you will love it,” Keith challenged.

 

“Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that,” Lance teased. 

 

Keith shook his head. “Come on, let’s go back to the dorm. Unless you have classes today?”

 

“Yes, but that’s later. We can head back, I need a nap. Wanna join me?” Lance asked and grabbed Keith’s hand while they made their way to the dorm. 

 

“Of course,” Keith responded. 

 

~~~~

 

Back in the dorm, they laid in bed and curled up together, Keith’s back against Lance’s chest. Keith’s hand was stretched out lazily in front of them. Lance could easily move his own and curl his fingers around Keith’s.

 

But would he? It's one thing to hold hands in public but it's another to hold hands when sleeping. It seems… More  intimate. Like he just wants to hold the other’s hand. But, oh, how happy Lance would feel.

 

Lance chewed on his bottom lip before moving his hand towards Keith’s. Slowly, he laid it on top of Keith’s. No reaction from the latter. Probably still asleep.

 

Lance sighed of relief in his head, too afraid to do it outloud, before slowly curling his fingers around Keith’s. Then he stopped, no. This was wrong. They weren't dating. Lance can't do this. He pulled his hand away from Keith's.

 

“Stop,” Keith mumbled softly in his sleep.

 

Stop holding his hand, or stop pulling away? Lance panicked and just pulled away. 

 

Keith said nothing, seemingly going back to sleep. 

 

Lance was falling and he can't stop. 

  
Then he fell asleep, his worries dying as his eyes closed.


	14. battle of the kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance have some innocent competition and it ends with feelings being spilled out.

Lance and Keith decided to have a date at the pa- No, Lance. Stop, not a date. Just two friends hanging out, Lance corrected himself. 

 

Lance and Keith decided to hang out at the park. They sat on the bench and just relaxed, enjoying the nice weather they were lucky enough to receive. Across from them sat a happy couple, in the middle of kissing each other on the lips. 

 

Lance couldn't help but longingly imagine it was him and Keith instead. That  _ they _ were holding hands and looking at one another with so much love and dare he think, kiss. 

 

No, Lance. Stop. You can't think this way, Keith is your friend.

 

He gulped a tight knot down his throat. He felt a sharp pain in his chest where his heart would be.

 

That's all they will ever be. Friends. Of course. Keith is only doing this out of pity. He felt bad for Lance. Why else would he be doing this? It's not like he liked Lance back, or anything. 

 

Lance’s eyes prickled with tears. Why did this realization hurt so much? 

 

A soft squeeze was felt on his hand. He looked down to see Keith’s hand holding his own. When did that happen?

“Are you okay, Lance?” Keith asked softly with genuine worry that made Lance feel like he was melting. 

 

Lance sniffled as he felt a tear go down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly. “Yeah, I’m fine.” His throat felt tight as if he were being choked by a persistent invisible force. “Must be allergies.”

 

“But you’re not allergic to anything,” Keith responded, his eyebrows furrowing.

 

“That is true.” He sighed, struggling to continue speaking. “Do you maybe want to head back to the dorm?”

 

Keith opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. He choose to nod instead. He got up, still holding Lance’s hand as he waited for him to do the same. They walked back. The knot slowly undoing itself in his throat.

 

* * *

 

Back in the dorm, Keith plopped down on the bed and patted the spot next to him. “Come on, sit down and talk about your feelings.”

 

Lance snorted. “Keith, I’m fine. Besides, you are the worst at talking about your feelings. Aren't you the one who wouldn't talk to Shiro for months after he came back from the army just because he didn't tell you?”

 

“Hey! I am his brother, he should have told me!” Keith said defensively but then took a deep breath. “This is not about me, it's about you. Now come on.” He patted the bed again.

 

Lance sighed begrudgingly and sat down next to him, turning his body slightly to face him.

 

“Alright. Why were you about to start crying in the middle of the park?” Keith asked.

 

Lance said nothing about the subject and decided to try to change it. “How are Matt and Pidge doing? I still don't know why they separated.”

 

“They’re fine and that’s a long story. I know what you are doing.”

 

“What? I’m just asking a simple question. It just happened to come up when you are asking a serious one,” Lance defended.

 

“Lance.”

 

“Okay. How about you tell me what happened and then I’ll consider talking about my feelings.”

 

Keith weighed the options this for a moment as his lips bunched together and he hummed. “Alright, fine. But you have to talk about your feelings, or I swear Lance McClain.”

 

“Saying my almost full name in a threatening way only works from Ama,” Lance stated, but aquienced. “Okay, I will.”

 

Keith nodded before starting to tell Pidge and Matt’s story. “You already know that Matt and Shiro are dating. They have been for a long time.”

 

Lance nodded.

 

“Well, when Shiro left, Matt seemed fine. Yes, of course he missed Shiro but it did not affect his mental stability. That is until Shiro got in that accident. Matt was terrified for his love’s safety and that worry starting eating at him. He pushed people away and not taking care of himself.

 

Of course, Pidge was no exception to this but she was stubborn and tried to help. One day, Pidge went over to Matt’s home and tried to help him once more which ended in a heated argument, hurting Pidge’s feelings greatly where she stepped off from his life. 

 

They haven't talked since until you decided to help them.”

 

Lance took this moment to process what had been said. “Wow. I am the best person alive.”

 

Keith laughed briefly and shoved Lance gently. “Feelings time.”

 

“Do I have to?” Lance whined.

 

“Yes, you big baby,” Keith answered, receiving a playful glare from Lance.

 

“It was the couple.”

 

“The one from across us? What about them?”

 

“They were just so… In love. They were kissing and showing a shit ton of PDA and I… I want that.”

 

“That's what made you tear up?”

 

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

 

“Kind of? I don't know if I can help, Lance… Unless…”

 

Oh, God. Why did Keith have to say it that way? So many ideas ran through the Cuban’s mind in that second. 

 

Keith leaned over to him.

 

Oh, god. It’s happening. That one gif from the office where a guy is freaking out and running around plays in his mind. Could this be it? Could this be the moment he kissed Keith Kogane? The Keith Kogane?

 

A soft kiss was planted on his cheek. It was so… Innocent but so much better than anything Lance's  mind could come up with on how it would feel like to kiss Keith Kogane. He felt his stomach explode with butterflies. 

 

Keith pulled away as Lance reached up to touch his cheek where Keith’s lips once were. Keith was blushing slightly and looked down at his hands. “I can’t actually kiss you on the lips since we are not actually together. But-” He paused to look at Lance in the eyes “- I hope that helped?”

 

Lance stared at him, speechless for a few moments before a small smile formed on his lips. He felt that familiar tug at his heart, but he ignored it. “Thank you, that did help.” He leaned over to cup Keith’s cheeks and kissed his forehead. 

 

Keith smiled at him. “I’m glad.” He grabbed Lance’s hand and pressed his lips softly against his tan skin.

 

Lance raised an eyebrow before grabbing Keith’s other hand and pulling at it to kiss it.

 

Keith let out a soft laugh as he tried to pull his hand away and failed as Lance planted a kiss.

 

Keith leaned over and kissed Lance’s nose. There was an unsaid competition on who could kiss the other the most. It seemed innocent at first, that is until they ran out of places to kiss where it wouldn't be weird. They were at a tie.

 

Their faces were close to the point where you could smell the other’s scent, it wasn't unpleasant to either of them.

 

The tension was thick and slowly the gap started closing. Their lips met, tentatively at first. It was a soft, slow kiss. Lance’s hand was holding Keith’s cheek. 

 

As the realization of what they were doing set in, Lance pulled away, a strong blush on his cheeks. He moved his hand away from Keith and before he could stutter out a weak apology, Keith grabbed him by the collar and smushed their lips together once more. 

 

Lance froze in a moment of surprise before kissing Keith once more. 

 

He felt the fireworks.

 

Once the kiss ended and both pulled apart, they stared at one another awkwardly.

 

“Does this me-”

 

“So, this mea-” they said at the same time,

 

“You go first,” Keith said softly.

 

Lance nodded before continuing his train of thought. “So, this means you like me?”

 

“Y-yeah,” Keith stuttered.

 

Lance smiled. “Good.”

 

“Why is that?” Keith asked.

 

“Because I like you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the end of this story and I am so very proud of myself for actually finishing it! Not that I doubted I would, but still! This is my first multi-chapter fanfiction that I completed and I am oh so very happy. I hope you enjoyed reading it! I sure had fun writing it ^u^

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is appreciated! I know I am not the best writer, but I want to improve.


End file.
